What is the best olive oil and why? My grocery has endless choices but I want the best and healthiest!?

Question

I know that extra-Virgin is supposed to be best (cold pressed too, I think). But there are so many brands and flavors, such a variance in prices. i don't mind spending extra for the best. Are the flavoured ones equally good? What brands are considered the best? I want to use the oil for cooking and for salads. Thanks for any input! :)

Answer 1

For cooking....it makes no real difference...you are after the health benefits, and cold processed extra virgin will perform as well as 3rd pressing, hot processed, for that purpose.

For salads, yes, get extra-virgin cold pressed, and, in my opinion, something imported from spain. Spanish olive oil has a less-sweet, pleasant flavour that to me is unbeatable in salads. Italian olive oil is, in my opinion, too fruity for salads, although it is nice in marinaded vegetables, like mushrooms.

So, in reality, you need to buy several different olive oils, for different purposes.

Namaste,

--Tom

Answer 2

The best for salads and dipping is extra virgin, and for frying olive oil. Not "pure" olive oil which is the low grade and can be treated. The light and extra light are about taste not calories. They are all identical calorie wise. See the web site of Berio which is a very good brand. Compare two virgin oils at the same time. It's more a personal preference than one of quality.

Answer 3

As long as you make sure you buy EXTRA virgin and it is organic, those are the important things. I think you have to be careful of too many added ingredients when you buy the flavored ones. It's best to make your own infusions at home. The EVOO that proclaims to be "light" is light only in flavor, not in calories or anything. Don't bother with it. If you really want to make sure you're getting the good stuff, go to a health food store and buy it by the vat :)

Answer 4

Brand really doesn't matter. Extra virgin (virgin isn't bad, either) & cold pressed is right. Brands cost more depending on how much advertising they have just like beer, vodka, pizza, etc. The most popular & the most expensive are not necessarily the best.

Answer 5

A 1996 study by the FDA found that 96% of the olive oils they tested, while being labeled 100% olive oil, had been diluted with other oils. A study in Italy found that only 40% of the olive oil brands labeled "extra virgin" actually met those standards. Italy
produces 400,000 tons of olive oil for domestic consumption, but 750,000 are sold. The difference is made up with highly refined nut and seed oils.

If you want to find healthy, high-quality oils, you should focus on just a few very important things:

What should I read on the label?
The most significant information is the date of harvest together with the expiration date. Did you know that olive oil loses fruitiness and flavor as it ages and after maximum two years from the harvest it will be oxidized and rancid?

The importance of packaging.
A dark bottle, a bottle wrapped in foil, a bottle packaged
in cardboard or wooden box is a MUST to preserve the quality of the oil because it must be kept away from direct light.

Is the color of the olive oil important?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! Official tasters always use
dark glasses so that their sense is not influenced by the color. Many times oils are chemically manipulated to be greener because customers believe that greener oil is better. This is absolutely wrong!

Depending on its place of origin and the variety of olives used , olive oil has a wide range of flavors and fragrances and the consumer should choose and buy the type that best suits his/her particular taste and the food to prepare.

Extra virgin olive oil is like fine wine. Its taste and aroma can be easily distinguished by the nose and the palate, then discussed and dissected.

A series of requirements are declared on national and international regulations to identify Trade Standards for olive oils. The quality is measured in two steps: acidity evaluation and taste test.

According to the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), these are the categories:

1)VIRGIN OLIVE OIL is the oil obtained from the fruit of the olive tree solely by mechanical or other physical means under conditions, particularly thermal conditions, which do not lead to the alteration of the oil. It has not undergone any treatment
other than washing, decanting, centrifuging and filtering. When virgin olive oil is intended for consumption in its natural state, it is called by one of the following designations:

a- Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a maximum acidity of 1% and organoleptic characteristics stipulated in the standards for this category;

b- Virgin Olive Oil has a maximum acidity of 2% and organoleptic characteristics stipulated in the standards for this category;

c- Ordinary Virgin Olive Oil has a maximum acidity of 3% and organoleptic characteristics stipulated in the standards for this category;

d- Lampante Virgin Olive Oil has more than 3.3% of acidity and organoleptic characteristics stipulated in the standards for this category. It is not fit for consuption in its original state and should be refined prior to its use as a food stuff.

2)REFINED OLIVE OIL is obtained from virgin olive oils, generally Lampante, by refining methods that do not alter the initial glyceride structure of the oil.

3)OLIVE OIL is a specific foodstuff term for a blend of refined olive oil and virgin olive oil fit for consumption as is.

Answer 6

I prefer extra virgin,it's from the first pressing of the olives.

Answer 7

I ALWAYS BOUGHT DANTE OIL
THERE ARE MANY ITALIAN OILS
LOOK FOR THE OLIVE OIL EXTRA VIRGIN THATS DARK GREEN IN COLOUR

Answer 8

I'd get a spanish one. They are cheaper and just as good as Italian.